


He'll always try to stop me

by Shootingstarprince



Category: Trench - Twenty One Pilots (Album), Twenty One Pilots
Genre: ;), Abusive Relationships, Amnesia, And the leader of Dema, Angst, Bandito Josh, Banditos - Freeform, Blurryface, Blurryface is Nicholas Bourbaki, Blurryface is mostly referred to as Nico, Dysfunctional Relationships, Escaping Dema, Fluff and Angst, He really just wants to help Tyler out of Nico's hold, I promise, I suck at tagging but this story is actually gonna be good, I'm Sorry, Is anything actually real?, Is the ending gonna be happy?, Josh is a good guy, M/M, Memory Loss, Nico is manipulative, Nico is nice to Tyler but not really, Nico is the leader of the bishops, Nobody knows, Oops?, So don't get confused, Stay on your toes, Trench AU, Trench Era, Trench Verse, Tyler is conflicted, Tyler is manipulated, dema, dema au, joshler - Freeform, jumpsuit, nico and the niners, tags will be added as the story progresses, you will probably cry at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 22:48:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16438316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shootingstarprince/pseuds/Shootingstarprince
Summary: Dema is Tyler's home and Dema is good. Or, so he tells himself. Deep inside, he knows it's not true. He remembers Josh's words, about Dema being more of a trap than a home. But Nico tells him otherwise. Nico says he belongs in Dema. And maybe he'd right, maybe it's fate that he was brought here. After all, no matter how many times he gives into Josh's words and leaves with him, he always finds himself back in square one; back in Dema and back with Nico. As more and more time passes, the more the old memories fade, Nico taking them over and altering them into something horrible, the filth seeping into Tyler's very soul.Tyler doesn't know if he wants to be saved anymore, but Josh can see his helpless call behind his eyes."C̶a̶n̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶s̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶v̶y̶d̶i̶r̶t̶y̶s̶o̶u̶l̶?̶"





	He'll always try to stop me

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello! So, I'm aware I have so many unfinished fics and yet I'm starting another one! I wanted to write something specifically for the Trench era and I couldn't get rid of this idea no matter how hard I tried. So here it is. I really have no idea how long this is gonna be or how it's gonna be, but I hope you enjoy anyway.
> 
> Welcome to Trench.

Dema is Tyler’s home. That’s how it’s always been. Or well, not always, but as long as Tyler can remember. Okay, actually that’s a lie too. Tyler remembers the time before Dema, though it’s a little foggy. He’s told it doesn’t matter and he nods along and believes it too. He supposes it really doesn’t matter. He’s in Dema now and Dema is his home.  
Tyler likes it in Dema. Or well… Tyler likes the security. The other things are… He shakes his head. No. Dema is good. Safe. He definitely likes it there. Nico wouldn’t like it if he heard these thoughts Tyler had sometimes, about Dema being a bad place. So, Tyler tries not to think them as much. Tyler tries not to think at all, in fact. And empty head means a happy body. That’s what Nico always tells him. He doesn’t have to think. Nico does it for him. Nico has worked hard to make Dema the way it is, and Tyler is thankful. Nico is a good leader to the people. He keeps everyone safe from what lies beyond the walls, whatever it is, but Nico says it’s bad.

Now Nico… Who is Nico? Nico goes by many names, but the ones who know him most get to call him just that. Others, not so close, cower when he gets close, raises his voice. Faint, low whispers of “Nicholas Bourbaki” and “Blurryface” are heard in the streets, but nobody dares to speak them too loudly. Nico is a fearsome leader, Tyler supposes. Or it’s probably not Nico who the people fear, rather what he can do. His bishops, nine of them, keep everyone in check and the bad things out. Tyler doesn’t like to be around them, but he had learned not to fear. They won’t hurt him, not really. Because Nico doesn’t tell them to. He wouldn’t. Because Tyler is Nico’s… Not friend, definitely not friend. Nico doesn’t have friends, he doesn’t let people close. He just calls Tyler his “favourite”. Tyler thinks it’s because how easily he breaks. 

Now, Tyler isn’t scared of the bishops. But Tyler is terrified of Nico. Nico has the most terrifying aura and he knows each and every way to make a person break, without laying a finger on them. His words dig deep, under the skin like a knife and settle there and you can’t get them out. He knows everyone’s weaknesses by just looking at them and Tyler hates it, he hates it so much. But at the same time Nico makes him feel secure. Nico helps him, Nico is kind as long as Tyler is good and listens to him. Tyler tries to be good, he really does.

But there’s something Tyler misses. He tries not to think about it, tries to convince himself that it doesn’t matter. He tries, oh how he tries. But he misses something. Or someone. Tyler misses Josh.

Josh is that one thing before Dema that Tyler can’t bring himself to forget. Everything else is kind of foggy, sort of forgotten, but Josh is always there, bright as the sun itself. Tyler remembers Josh’s smile, his voice, he remembers everything. He remembers the first time they met, when Tyler had been beaten down, bruised, out of water, just waiting for the vultures to come for him, when Josh had appeared out of nowhere, held out a hand and helped him up. Josh had taken him to Dema and that’s where they had spent the next two years, together. But then Josh had grown restless, suspicious about whether Dema was as amazing as it seemed. 

Josh had told Tyler he was going to make a run for it, leave Dema for good, find his own safe place with those who didn’t want to be slaves to Nico and the Niners, as the bishops were called, anymore. Tyler had been unsure. Dema had been the place that had offered him a home when he’d had nothing to give in return. And Nico… Nico had immediately taken a liking to him. Now, Tyler had always been terrified of Nico, even back then, but as said before, there was something secure about him as well. He could build Tyler up just as quickly as he could break him down. Nico said many good things about Tyler too. Perhaps those good things were rather degrading, but they were good thing nevertheless. “Good boy,” whispered when Tyler did his “chores” for the day. “You’re my favourite after all,” said in a low voice, when Tyler pledged his obedience. It made him feel secure. Like he had a purpose. He had never had a purpose before and he was sure that Nico knew that and was using it to his advantage, but he couldn’t help feeling fulfilled by the praise he received. 

But Josh also made him feel like he was worth something. Josh was kind, soft spoken. His words weren’t degrading, but filled with fondness instead. He would touch Tyler’s shoulder, hold his hands, run his fingers through his hair, when the younger man was shaky after Nico had wanted to see him. “You’re so strong,” whispered in the dead of night, when they’d snuck out to watch the stars in cold weather. Maybe that was what made Tyler nod along to Josh the first time, let the red-haired man take his hand and sneak past the gates, back into the unknown outside. Little did Tyler know then, that this wouldn’t be his last escape attempt.


End file.
